Riley Earns First-Team Honors

Senior shortstop Michael Radford is one of the most improved players in the conference. He went from making only six starts last season, to second-team All-MEAC honors this season.

Courtesy: NC A&T Sports Information

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GREENSBORO - The
North Carolina A&T baseball team had four players who were selected for
all-conference honors, the MEAC announced on Tuesday. Senior second baseman Marquis Riley earned first-team
All-MEAC honors while junior first baseman Kelvin Freeman, sophomore third
baseman Luke Tendler and senior shortstop Michael Radford garnered second-team
All-MEAC honors.

"It's good for us and for the program. Each individual has put in the work," said A&T head coach Joel Sanchez. "Give the program a little credit. We have guys that are putting in a lot of work, and it's showing, and they're getting some recognition for it. It's good for those guys. That has been the core of our team, and it's good they've got recognition. Hopefully, we can carry their momentum and this group can carry the team in the conference tournament. "

Riley
(5-11, 190, Sr., Efland, N.C.) is batting a team-best .350 with 10 doubles, a
triple, two home runs and 42 RBI. He
currently leads the MEAC in hits (71), ranks fourth in RBI and third in batting
average. He has walked 23 times and
struck out just nine times this season.
He ranks seventh in the country for toughest to strikeout, and is 85th
in the country for hits. Riley was the
hardest batter to strikeout in the nation in 2011, with just four strikeouts. To
date, he has a career .355 average with 48 doubles, 19 home runs and 157 RBI. Over
his four-year career, he only strikes out once every 34 official at-bats. He earned
second team honors in 2010 and '11.

Freeman
(6-4, 235, Jr., Wilmington, N.C.) is second on the team with a .335 average with
12 doubles, a triple, two home runs and 27 RBI in 51 games this season. He ranks second in the conference in hits
(67). He has helped to anchor the A&T infield at first base, making 481
putouts and 26 assists. He hit safely in
10 games from April 7-21, and also had a nine-game hitting streak this
season. He is hitting .344 in his career
at A&T with 35 doubles, two triples, 15 home runs and 110 RBI. He was named
MEAC Rookie of the Year in 2010.

Tendler
(5-11, 180, So., Wilmington, N.C.) posted a team-best and career-best 20-game
hitting streak this season. He hit .400
with four doubles, two triples, five home runs and 22 RBI during the streak
(April 4-May 5). He is batting .305 this season after being named to the
preseason All-MEAC team. He is second in the conference in home runs (6) and RBI (48), and is tied for second in triples with five. His .483 slugging percentage is good enough
for fifth in the league, and his 98 total bases leads the MEAC. Tendler made
the move from shortstop to third base in the middle of the season, and has been
successful in that position. Tendler was named first-team Louisville Slugger
Freshman All-American and earned first-team All-MEAC honors in 2011.

In
his second campaign with A&T after transferring from Surry Community
College, Radford (5-6, 135, Sr. Princeton, N.C.) has been a valuable member of
the middle infield this season. Radford is batting .302 with13 doubles, a
triple, 25 RBI, 20 walks and 11 stolen bases. He is tied for the team lead in
stolen bases (11) and is tied for second in the MEAC in doubles. He switched
from third base to shortstop in the middle of the season, and has been a
contributor from that position, totaling 153 assists and 43 putouts this
season.